Estabrook park was one of many parks in Milwaukee County to receive extensive improvements from the CCC or the WPA in the 1930s. Work by the CCC at Estabrook Park included the removal of “about 100,000 cubic yards of rock… read more
This 1940 oil on canvas “Autumn Wisconsin Landscape” by Ethel Spears was originally painted for the Hartford post office. It is now located in the Schauer Arts & Activities Center.
“Farnam Park is located at 1305 7th Street South. The City purchased lots from John A. Salzer Seed Company in 1938 to build tennis courts with WPA labor. This is a neighborhood park of .34 acres where people can recreate… read more
"This building is approximately 256 by 388 feet. It contains administrative offices, library, auditorium seating 1,000, double gymnasium, and classrooms for art, music, biology, general science, mechanical drawing, printing, woodworking, and metal working, a study hall seating 200, 25 classrooms,… read more
Green Bay’s Fire Station No. 3 was constructed in 1937 with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. supplied a $17,550 grant for the project, whose total cost was $49,352. PWA Docket No. WI [W]1367
From 1935-1941, the WPA worked on projects directly supporting the United States Military. In Wisconsin, the WPA along with the U.S. War Department worked on a $22,000 building project that saw them build 6 wood buildings and two stone gates… read more
This gate is an amazing engineering feet. It lays at approximately 250 feet long and is in very nice shape. This gate, once completed, was used as the post’s main gate prior to the cantonment area moving to North of… read more
Per a historical account of Fort McCoy, written as a result of the base’s 100th anniversary, it was mentioned that the WPA worked on post during the construction of Highway 21 near the Fort. This construction resulted in many buildings… read more
“In 1936, CCC and WPA workers gathered on a scruffy piece of logged off timberland to build the Franklin Lake Campground… CCC enrollees from Camp Ninemile in Vilas County worked with the National Park Service to create landscape, trails, roads,… read more
This stone and concrete grandstand was constructed by local Stevens Point workers in 1938 with money from the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to provide a venue for viewing football games. It is located in Goerke Park, a 26-acre sports park… read more
“Repairing and painting of buildings, including band shells, bathhouses, pavilions, bridges, residences, service buildings and playground buildings in the following parks…Gordon Park.”
“Along the Upper Mississippi, WPA employees built … the stone shelter atop Grandad Bluff in La Crosse, Wisconsin …”
“The temporary Grant Park bathhouse at the foot of Lake Michigan was replaced by the WPA with a permanent building of Colonial design, complete with open-air dressing yards that sat on a raised stone terrace overlooking the beach and lake…. read more
The Granville Town Board voted in 1940 to build a new Town Hall in Granville Center that would house the town offices, an auditorium, and the fire department. Work Projects Administration (WPA) labor built the project. Construction began Oct. 23,… read more
“A large outdoor swimming pool was constructed at Greenfield Park by the WPA to serve the western part of the community. The water supply was obtained from a deep well, pumped into small lagoons, or warming basins, where it was… read more
With WPA support, Cal Peters painted several murals for the University of Wisconsin-Stout campus, circa 1935-1936. This mural “Learning, Industry, Skill and Honor” is a 5′ x 40′ oil on canvas. The central figure appears to be “Wisdom” dispensing the… read more
Hawthorn Glen is a park and nature and education center administered by the Milwaukee Public Schools recreation division. The twenty-three acre site includes a long curving bluff, ravines, and a deciduous forest, as well as a soccer field, several nature… read more
WisconsinHistory.org: “The Herbster Community Center was funded by the Work Progress Administration, a federal agency established in 1935 by President Roosevelt to provide employment for needy workers during the Great Depression. The WPA project at Herbster was developed to utilize… read more
A high school building in Loyal, Wisconsin was constructed with Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The exact location and status of the building is presently unknown to Living New Deal. wiclarkcountyhistory.org: “Formal dedication of the new high school building at… read more
“The Hodag Park Bath House is a one-story, random rubble, hip-roofed building. It is Rustic, a style that was popular during the late 1930s. The Bath House was built circa 1938 (1939 photo, L. L. Cook Collection, SHSW; Rhinelander City… read more
“Improved 225 acres of the parkway from North Avenue to Church Street, planted 10,000 shrubs and trees, built 7 bridges and constructed 5 miles of roads. Erected 2 miles of retaining wall along the Menomonee River to halt erosion. Constructed… read more
Concrete and stone arch bridge over Honey Creek on Honey Creek Parkway North of Hwy 18. Built in 1934 as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps. A number of pictures are included on the referenced web page.
The WPA and CWA conducted extensive work throughout the park, building stone shelters and fireplaces. From contributor Erin Brown: “Hoyt Park is located on the west side of Madison, and is slightly off the beaten path of busy roads and… read more
“Later in 1936, the regional planning department prepared plans for the new pool and bathhouse that was then constructed by the WPA. The new facility opened in 1939. The pool had a capacity of one million gallons.”
Hoyt Park already appears in The Living New Deal site data. However, most New Deal structures at this cherished park are not represented. Therefore, this submission adds five photos of New Deal structures at this beautiful park. Additional photos could… read more
Jules Iverson Memorial Park in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, named for a local philanthropist, is at 121 acres the city’s largest park and its most heavily used. It is located in a basin created by the shallow, meandering Plover River, which… read more
Green Bay’s Jackson Elementary School was constructed in 1937-8 with federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The P.W.A. supplied an $81,000 grant for the project, whose total cost was $208,266. PWA Docket No. WI [W]1326
"The most visible legacy of WPA projects in Milwaukee County was the parks system, which had more construction and landscaping during the WPA period than any other time in its history. WPA construction included six swimming pools, pavilions at Red… read more
"The most visible legacy of WPA projects in Milwaukee County was the parks system, which had more construction and landscaping during the WPA period than any other time in its history. WPA construction included six swimming pools, pavilions at Red… read more
Public Works Administration-funded contractors built the Cooper School in Greenfield, WI.
“The murals in the Paul Bunyan Room in the Wisconsin Student Union in Madison, WI were done by James Watrous funded by the PWAP.”
“Repairing and painting of buildings, including band shells, bathhouses, pavilions, bridges, residences, service buildings and playground buildings in the following parks…Kern Park.”
“An unusual WPA project involved the relocation of the Kilbourntown house to Estabrook Park. The Greek Revival home was built by pioneer carpenter and master builder Benjamin Church for his family in the early settlement of Kilbourntown near North Fourth… read more
“Kletzsch Park was also greatly improved with the use of relief labor. A Civilian Conservation Corps camp was established in Kletzsch Park in May of 1935 and discontinued in November of 1935. The CCC projects completed included a new dam… read more
“A sixth CCC Camp was established at Kletzsch Park, a 118.9-acre park adjacent to the Milwaukee River in Glendale. The crew did some landscape work, but its major project was the replacement of the old crib-type dam, which had been… read more
“One of the later WPA projects [in Milwaukee County] was the construction of the Kosciuszko pool and bathhouse. As one of the parks transferred from the city in 1937, the county set out to update the facilities. Plans for the… read more
Lake Owen, located within the Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin, features a typical Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) wood frame park shelter on its northeast shore. Upon completion, the shelter had changing rooms for men and women, which have since… read more
“Repairing and painting of park board buildings, including band shells, bath houses, pavilions, bridges, residences, service buildings and play ground buildings in the following parks…Lake Park.”
